POWER WINDOWS

Why is this album so underrated? I've never liked if a prog band starts getting too much into pop. At first I found "Power Windows" a little cheezy but after some listening I started to appreciate it. In this album Rush successfully blended prog rock with 80's synth pop. I usually don't like 80's pop and digital synts very much but Rush made it interesting. IMO this album is much better than it's dull precidor "Grace Under Pressure". The songwritting sounds very inspired. Simple but good melodies, the energy and passion of the music are haunting. The production is polished but the album sounds overproduced at times. The sound is very majestic, textured and keyboard laden. This get's distracting after a while but I still like the overall atmosphere. The performance of the band is perfect. Geddy's bass lines are great - for example in "Big Money". His singing has become more bearable. Alex Lifeson's energetic guitar playing is top noch. Riffs and screaming guitar solos are among his best e.g. 7/8 solo in "Marathon". Neil's rolls and fills are still presented although I would like to hear less electronic percussion. The only big low point could be too much similarity between tracks but this gets improved after repeated listening. "Power Windows" is different from classic Rush albums and it's not a masterpiece but I think it's one of their best. This is their last really good recording!